Are any fruit trees easier than others to grow from seed?

[AZ Athena]

Just curious. I saw a couple of posts on apple trees from seeds here and I've tried those as well as pear trees. I get them to sprout and that's about it. Have any of you actually successfully grown a fruit tree from seed and what do you think the key to your success was?

 

[claudine]

I grow a lemon tree. It doesn't produce any fruits yet, but it's really big. I guess I was just lucky, I've never done anything special with it, I just planted a seed in soil and waited, lol
I heard that it's easy to grow an avocado tee from a seed.

 

[gata montes]

Hi - AZ Athena to be honest trying to grow a fruit from seed is not exactly the best way of acquiring a fruit tree or that successful either.

The majority of fruit tree regardless of variety are not grown from seed - but grown as grafted trees - mainly because they generally take a long time to mature - but also because the grafting helps to ensure that the tree will be virtually pest and disease free, as well as being an abundant cropper of sweet tasting fruit.

Although it is possible to grow some fruit trees from seed - unless you are wanting to grow a tree for its ornamental value - growing fruit trees from seed is not normally recommended - for the simple reason that not all varieties of fruit come true from seed and apart from the length of time it takes for a tree to reach maturity - you will often land up with a weak and diseased specimen - that may or may not resemble the mother plant - as well as one that rarely if ever bears fruit and if it did - you would probably wish it hadn't - as the fruit is very unlikely to taste anything like you were expecting.

 

[Rose]

We have several orange trees in our backyard that we grew- it isn't difficult, but you do need to live in a southern climate for them to thrive, and the water and soil quality is important if you want good oranges

 

[AZ Athena]

I grow a lemon tree. It doesn't produce any fruits yet, but it's really big. I guess I was just lucky, I've never done anything special with it, I just planted a seed in soil and waited, lol
I heard that it's easy to grow an avocado tee from a seed.

Nice. When life gives you lemons, grow a tree... if only I liked lemons. Thanks, though. Maybe I'll just toss some seeds around and see what takes.

 

[AZ Athena]

Hi - AZ Athena to be honest trying to grow a fruit from seed is not exactly the best way of acquiring a fruit tree or that successful either.

The majority of fruit tree regardless of variety are not grown from seed - but grown as grafted trees - mainly because they generally take a long time to mature - but also because the grafting helps to ensure that the tree will be virtually pest and disease free, as well as being an abundant cropper of sweet tasting fruit.

Although it is possible to grow some fruit trees from seed - unless you are wanting to grow a tree for its ornamental value - growing fruit trees from seed is not normally recommended - for the simple reason that not all varieties of fruit come true from seed and apart from the length of time it takes for a tree to reach maturity - you will often land up with a weak and diseased specimen - that may or may not resemble the mother plant - as well as one that rarely if ever bears fruit and if it did - you would probably wish it hadn't - as the fruit is very unlikely to taste anything like you were expecting.

Ah, that would be disappointing... to grow one and wait years only to find out that the fruit is awful. Mostly, I wanted to try growing from seed for the kiddos- so they could have that experience. Thank you for the advice. It is duly noted.

 

[gata montes]

Ah, that would be disappointing... to grow one and wait years only to find out that the fruit is awful. Mostly, I wanted to try growing from seed for the kiddos- so they could have that experience. Thank you for the advice. It is duly noted.

Ah ha - if I'd known that you were only wanting to grow a fruit tree from seed as a fun experiment and not for its fruit then I would have suggested trying peach, papaya, pineapple or avocado - all of which are great fun to experiment with as not only do they germinate quickly but grow quickly too

 

[Annabell]

I grow a lemon tree. It doesn't produce any fruits yet, but it's really big. I guess I was just lucky, I've never done anything special with it, I just planted a seed in soil and waited, lol
I heard that it's easy to grow an avocado tee from a seed.

Out of interest, what kind of climate do you live in that you were able to grow a lemon tree?

 

[claudine]

Out of interest, what kind of climate do you live in that you were able to grow a lemon tree?

I live in middle Europe, in Poland. My lemon tree grows in a big flower pot, I keep it indoors. Outside, it would be too cold for it. Although the climate seems to change, winters still can be pretty harsh here. A citrus tree probably wouldn't survive it.

 

[AZ Athena]

Ah ha - if I'd known that you were only wanting to grow a fruit tree from seed as a fun experiment and not for its fruit then I would have suggested trying peach, papaya, pineapple or avocado - all of which are great fun to experiment with as not only do they germinate quickly but grow quickly too

Ooh, well, I really was hoping for something that would produce as well, but I sure like the idea of trying avocado. I think the kids would get a huge kick out of that. Thanks!

 

[gata montes]

Ooh, well, I really was hoping for something that would produce as well, but I sure like the idea of trying avocado. I think the kids would get a huge kick out of that. Thanks!

You're welcome and even though it wouldn't fruit I think your kids would be thrilled just watching their avocado grow - however if you did want something that fruits and is easy for kids to grow - you could always consider giving them their very own pot of strawberry plants to look after

 

[AZ Athena]

You're welcome and even though it wouldn't fruit I think your kids would be thrilled just watching their avocado grow - however if you did want something that fruits and is easy for kids to grow - you could always consider giving them their very own pot of strawberry plants to look after

We've done some smaller things already. In fact, my daughter had her own flower garden this spring, but there's something to be said for growing something HUGE.

 

[Annabell]

I live in middle Europe, in Poland. My lemon tree grows in a big flower pot, I keep it indoors. Outside, it would be too cold for it. Although the climate seems to change, winters still can be pretty harsh here. A citrus tree probably wouldn't survive it.

Well that's still interesting! I would have thought that even in Poland the general climate would be too cold to grow something like a citrus tree well.

 

[gata montes]

We've done some smaller things already. In fact, my daughter had her own flower garden this spring, but there's something to be said for growing something HUGE.

Ah ha - something HUGE just had a thought - although as I'm not quite sure what kind of climate you have - I don't know if they will grow where you are - but how about growing watermelons. squash or pumpkins - as not only are they all HUGE - but they grow rapidly too

 

[AZ Athena]

Ah ha - something HUGE just had a thought - although as I'm not quite sure what kind of climate you have - I don't know if they will grow where you are - but how about growing watermelons. squash or pumpkins - as not only are they all HUGE - but they grow rapidly too

It's HOT and dry. I live in Arizona. I haven't been able to get pumpkins or watermelons to take. Cantaloupe does well though, as does squash. Hmm... I wonder why squash would grow and pumpkins wouldn't. :/ Now I'm curious. I'll have to try those again too. Thanks! (Side note, I'm still thinking about pumpkins vs squash. I bet it's because I tried to grow the squash in cooler months while I tried to have the pumpkins ready for Halloween instead...)